I got a phone call yesterday from someone who wanted to schedule a session with me because she just had a session last week with another headshot photographer and she absolutely hates how the photos turned out. She said the photos don’t really look like her- that her face…

You’re about to have your headshot taken. What is the most difficult thing to do? Is it: A. choose the perfect shirt that makes you look like you know everything. B. get your hair to do that…

It’s been done for years for actors and entertainers: your headshot stapled to the back of your resumé (or is it your resumé stapled to the back of your headshot?), or even inserting a small image of your headshot somewhere on the front of your resumé… but can it be …

This morning… wait, let me start over… This fine and beautiful, gorgeous morning in sunny and pleasant Chicago, I made some rounds downtown. After starting the morning at a quick meeting to check out an office space for staff headshots, I then head to Central Camera…

After photographing someone with curly hair the other week I had a sudden flashback to my senior portraits in high school. I have a distinct memory of stepping into the room my school had set a portrait photographer up in and seeing him light up in excitement when I…

Some people might already know this about me, but if you don’t, maybe you should sit down. Are you ready? Here it comes… I like to craft. When I’m not squishing a camera into my face taking pictures of wonderful people, I’m making things with fabric, thread, glue, wood…

A friend recently told me his point-and-shoot digital camera had died and he was looking for some tips in choosing a new one. Knowing I use a 5 pound state-of-the-art digital SLR with more megapixels than one person can possibly eat in one sitting, he figured I could at least …

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard, “I’m not very photogenic, so good luck taking my picture,” I would have a heck of a lot of nickels. As a photographer, I recognize the simple fact that some people are just more photogenic than others. Yes, that’s right.

Orval “Hoppy” Ray, 2006 About 6 years ago a friend and I took a random road trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma to hunt for ghost towns. It sounds like a weird idea now and it was probably a weird idea then. We had the notion that we would take hundreds of …

Last week I partnered with a legal publishing company hosting a networking event for attorneys and provided a little “social media photobooth” in a corner of the room, where attendees can stop by and have their headshot taken for a fraction of the price of an in-studio…

I have a few rules for choosing clothing to wear during your headshot. One of those rules is this: no t-shirts with stuff on them. Stuff like logos, crazy patterns, glitter, bows, splatters of mud, or anything else that distracts from your face. A headshot should be a photo of …

There’s nothing worse than an amazing photo of yourself where your smile looks so perfect, your eyes sparkle, your head is titled in just the perfect angle that makes your nose look so cute… but there’s one little hair sticking straight up. Or one little fingerprint on your glasses. Or …